The Second Portal
by Coat-hanger Pirate
Summary: Was there another? And what's behind it? Joined by somebody he'd given up hope on long ago, how will Jim and his crew fare against the unknown?


waveth Hey ho! Well, this is my first TP fic...or any sort of fic really. I know I may not exactly be the greatest of writers, but I hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoy writing it! Sorry if the formatting looks a little bit odd - for some reason that completely escapes even me, MS Word seems to have vanished from my computer. So, alas, I must make do with Wordpad for now. Oh well - at least it's something to write with, right?

Disclaimer: I do not own Treasure Planet, or any of its original characters. They are the property of the people at Disney...of which I am not one. I, the coat-hanger pirate, do however own any characters that don't appear in the film. Steal any of the above and you shall be vanquished

Also, one final note: This fic is NOT a romance...well, it _is_, but only between Amelia and Delbert. I'm not saying JimOC fics are bad - in fact, a few that I've read are pretty damn good. BUT. I thought...can't a girl and a guy just be friends? I don't know. The closest it'll probably ever get to any romance is some comical sugestiveness. Something like that. Blergh - on with the fic I say!

(oh...and this isn't just a 'girl goes with Jim' fic. I've tried to give her as much of a story of her own as possibe. In fact, I was thinking about writing a short-ish prequel introducing her. Think I should bother? Don't expect her to appear too soon either - Jim goes solo for a few chapters yet. Sorry if I seem blunt ..)

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For most inhabitants of the Spaceport, it was a day like any other - seasoned spacers setting out for their umpteenth voyage, countless different races standing on every corner, trying to flog their goods to anyone fortunate (or unfortunate, as the case my be) to stray too close. Now I'm sure we could spend all day talking about the happenings of the Spaceport, or indeed the very interesting, I'm sure, lives of those who made up the ever-growing crowds. But this story is about one boy in particular. A boy by the name of James Pleiades Hawkins.

"Jimmy! Wait for me! I think th- hey!...th-b-b-eh...umm...Jimmy...?" an antique-looking robot appeared to be tangled in with the tentacles of a rather displeased alien. She - if it even was female - waved her gelatinous tentacles around in distress, trying to shift her massive body as far away as possible from the robot. Her pink straw hat fell off, revealing a sticky, bald head, and several more eyes, and she shrieked in distaste. Well, if you were to describe it in more detail, the wording would probably best conform to 'an angry whale using a giant megaphone'. It was one of those moments when everybody seems to just stop and stare. Jim slapped a hand over his face and groaned, grabbing his copper companion by the ankles and dragging him away.

"Oh Jimmy! I'm so sorry about that! It's all my fault! First my mind and now this old pile of rust I call a body! Oh, the universe is a cruel place! Here, let me hug you, oh I'm so sorry, so so so-"

"Okay B.E.N., your sorry!...Just...no more hugging...please..." he looked exasperated, and leaned against the wall of what appeared to be a tavern. He exhaled and stared up at the sky. It was blue, not a cloud in the sky - as usual. Well, what else would you expect from a synthetic atmosphere? All year round, the weather was hot and dry, with today being no exception. The wall was in the shade, and the cool bricks helped him regain his former composure.

He heard a soft chuckle "It's not funny Mom! Only half an hour here, and everyone's already laughing at us!"

"Don't you think you're taking all of this a little bit too seriously?"

The trio stepped back into the crowd, and a reptillian-looking creature let out a throaty snicker.

"See?!"

"James Pleiades Hawkins! We're not going to see you again for six months! Do you really want to leave on a sour note?"

He managed a smile, and his tone lightened "Nah, I suppose not"

There was a mutual silence between the three as they walked, all save for a 'sorry!' or 'excuse me!' coming every so often from B.E.N.s general direction. Jim was first to break it "Uhh, Mom? I was kinda wondering...how exactly _did_ you stop Morph from following us out of the inn anyway? I know you told him to stay, but I have a feeling that might not have been enough..." there was a hint of sarcasm in his voice

"Well I put just put him in a spare jar, or course! I'm sure Delbert will take good enough care of him. I put the jar towards the front of the inn, he can't miss it"

"Mom...since when did we have anything spare...?"

"Well I'm sure I must have bought one at some point. It just seemed to appear at the back of the cupboard this morning. I mean it was just to keep him there until our ship left b-"

"And did this happen to be a disappearing jar, by any chance?" his brow had already started to crease as he cut in

"Well I just assumed that B.E.N. had already taken it ou-"

"Ummm...actually, Mrs Hawkins, I...uh...didn't really know anything about this jar either..." he raised his arms slightly in defence, his words short and cautious.

Jim muttered something about a 'damn pink blob' and spoke up "Alright Morph..." he paused to sigh heavily "...you can come out now. We know you're here"

"But I-"

"Just trust me on this one"

"Well...okay, but I still don't think-" she stopped mid-sentence as she felt the ribbon in her hair come loose "What the...?" it seemed to melt right out of her hair, reforming into the little protoplasmic being she knew all too well "Morph?! But I...and...and..." she let out a curt laugh "I give up. You win again, Morphie"

The pink shapeshifter chirped triumphantly, and transformed into a miniature Sarah, echoing her last words. "Win again! Win again!" he mimicked in a voice several octaves higher than Sarah's own.

She raised her hands in defeat, letting one fall to her hip. Taking it as an invitation, Morph floated over to her raised arm, nudging it a little in the hopes that she would stroke him, perhaps a small tickle under the chin. She gave in to the cuteness in any case, and any bad feelings that had managed to linger seemed to drift away - she had to admit, the mischevious shapeshifter could be pretty theraputic.

Morph nuzzled Sarah's cheek one last time and looked up. Seeing Jim beckon, he made his way over, giving him a quizical look.

"What were you _thinking_?!" he hissed, obviously annoyed at Morph's antics. Usually he just had to grin and bare it when he pulled one of his many pranks, but he drew the line when he thought it might cost him his place at the academy. He knew it was a bit of a long-shot, but he also knew some of Morph's previous tricks had been pretty risque - afterall, his switching of the map almost got them all killed. He knew he should probably lighten up about some things, but the academy was something he never wanted to let go of - it was the future he never dreamed of. Losing something like that would bring his entire world crashing down around him.

Morph hung his head - well, at least it looked like it, considering his head wasn't really distinguishable from the rest of his body. Jim continued giving him the same stern look, until the little pink blob decided to change his tactics. Widening his eyes, he looked up at Jim, lip quivering for effect. Rolling his eyes, Jim folded his arms and turned his back "It's not going to work, Morph! You _know_ it's too dangerous!"

Widening his eyes even more, the shapeshifter floated back around to face Jim, only to see his back once again. This continued over and over again, both too stubborn to yeild. Random passers-by started to give them stange looks, and Sarah turned to B.E.N., stifling yet another laugh "How long do you think they'll keep this up for?"

The disfunctional navigator paused for thought "Hmmm...hard to say Mrs Hawkins. Perhaps a couple of days...?"

"At this rate, I think you might be right"

After a few more minutes, Jim finally faced his pink adversary "OKAY, okay, I give! Just...enough with the cuteness, okay? I swear, it's so sickeningly cute it _burns_..."

Morph let out a tiny laugh, looking more pleased with himself than ever.

"But there's ONE condition if you're gonna come with me...NO MORE PRANKS."

The smug expression soon disappeared from the shapeshifter's face as he realized the implications of this prerequisite. But the thought of an adventure ruled everything else out, and he nodded slowly.

"Uhh...right. Good." was all Jim could come up with - he had to admit, he wasn't expecting him to actually agree.

The three - well, four now, pressed onward to the edge of the port.

"Wait...I think that's it" Jim came to an abrupt halt

"What, that thing?" his mother raised an eybrow "I don't really think the academy has a budget that big..."

"But they told me I'd be on the RLS Triumph, Mom!"

On closer inspection, however, she found written along the side, all in polished gilt lettering; 'RLS Triumph'. "Amelia must have more influence at that place than I thought..."

"What?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing..."

Giving his mother one last embrace, and letting B.E.N. squeeze him almost to death, he boarded the ship, setting down his bag.

The ship may not have been as large as the Legacy, but it made up for it in elegance. The masts were thin and slender, and by the looks of it, had been polished by hand until the wood had a subtle glossy sheen to it. The hull was more rounded than the Legacy at the back, but progressing forward towards the bow of the ship, it thinned and pointed to perfect precision. At the very front, just below the prow, was a gilt-plated figurehead. It appeared to be a bird of some sort - the equivalent of an earth falcon or eagle perhaps. Aside from the fact that it's four huge, downy wings spread right across the bow, it appeared to have four eyes too, one pair slightly smaller than, and placed above the other.

Nodding to both of those bidding him farewell, he picked up his bag once again, and made his way over to the wheel. It was mounted on a raised platform, his cabin situated directly behind it. He had to admit, all of this felt a bit strange - afterall, it was only two and a half years since he was nothing more than a cabin boy. Now, standing above everyone else in his crisp blue uniform, he wondered if every captain felt this awkward about his job. He brushed the feeling off - it would probably pass.

Morph, meanwhile, had transformed himself into a gloved hand, holding some sort of lacy hankie. Waving to B.E.N. and Sarah, he made small chirping noises. A member of the crew had spotted the little shapeshifter, and approached him slowly, considering you don't exactly see a hand floating in mid-air every day. Plucking up his courage, he hesitantly reached out and prodded the slightly disturbing hand in the back. Reverting back to his original form, Morph was both annoyed and surprised, resulting in a high-pitched growling squeak.

Letting out a frightened yelp, he stumbled backwards, running down into the galley and slamming the doors behind him.

Jim shouted a few orders, and Sarah watched in awe as the solar sails billowed outwards, while B.E.N. cried into her shoulder. She remembered the day he told her that he'd make her proud. Of course she didn't believe him at the time - it was just another excuse to get out of school for a few weeks. How wrong she had been.

And now, as the thrusters revved up, she saw him look back. Look straight at her. He wore an odd sort of smile - a mix of worry and excitement.

Quickly wiping a hot tear away she looked right back at him.

"_Aye, captain...I'll miss you_..."

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Weell, there you have it for now. Not too grand, I know, but, ehh...half of my brain is missing, so I have an excuse.

I'm thinking about getting a deviantart accout too. I dunno. I've already started to illustrate some of the scenes from this fic, and I've got some character designs, etc., but I'm not so sure people want to see 'em. I think perhaps one of the most magical elements of a story is the fact that everyone sees it differently in their mind. Set scenes might detract for some of those things, so...I don't know. I'm still turning it over in my mind.

Ack! I'm ranting again! Sorry! Well then, Coat-hanger Pirate out for now.

Review if you feel like pitying me.


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